Manley was born in St Elizabeth, Jamaica, in 1950.
When he was 8, his dad left for England and got a job working at a Lyons bakery in South London. A couple of years later, Manley's mum also left for England and got work in the ‘Tri-Ang’ toy factory in nearby Morden.
Manley and his three younger brothers went to live in the Jamaican countryside with their grandparents. He went to school "A little bit" It was strict, and they did a lot of caning in those days.
He also helped out on his grandparents' farm. Jamaica had hardly any vehicles back then, so they used donkeys to sell the produce to the market.
Over in London, Manley's mum and dad had managed to save enough money to get a house and send for their sons. So, in 1964, the four boys were flown to England into London Airport. (Heathrow). An air hostess looked after the boys on the flight. Manley remembers that they didn’t eat much because the British food on the plane looked strange.
It was a cold British Winter with thick snow, and Manley remembers the milk being frozen in the bottles on the doorstep. He remembers the smog and the Teddy Boys riding around on their scooters.
Manley and his brothers went to School in Colliers Wood in SW London. He and his brothers were the only black kids there. The new school took a bit of getting used to, and initially, there were a few fights, "You had to fend for yourself", but Manley made friends quickly. In Jamaica, the cane was in force at this school, too.
School got Manley into football. He and his new mates used to cross the river to Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea play, and he still supports them today.
One of his aunt's husbands, who lived in Lewisham, had a Mini. They all used to squeeze into the tiny car and go to Southend on Sea for an outing. He used to love going on all the fairground rides. It was a great childhood.
Manley left school at 16. He had learnt how to use a lathe and became an engineer. He worked at Smiths Meters in Mitcham for years and knew how to make a gas meter from scratch. Manley's surname was Robinson, but everyone at work called him 'Robbo'.
Over the years, he had 19 jobs in total. Back then, you could walk out of a job and into another the next day. Most of the places are gone now. (A Lidl supermarket now stands on the site of Smiths Meters). Manley only ever worked in engineering - he knew how to take a car apart and put it back together again, but not anymore because they are full of electronics nowadays.
